Patient review
I got my breast implants at 21 years of age and for the most part embraced my new found curves. But there was always a small part of me that felt ‘fake’ – they were never soft, too close together and didn’t fall like natural breasts. I was a very slim, small framed woman who went from a barely 10A to 10C…the breast tissue to implant ratio was low. Fast forward 19 years and I am now happily married with three children. After instilling in my children self-acceptance and acceptance of those around them, I felt it was time to walk the talk. As much as I liked the way they looked in clothes, I no longer felt like I needed big breasts to feel good about myself. I called my original surgeon and enquired about an explant about 3 years ago and was told I would look deformed if I didn’t have a replacement or at the very least a lift. Not wanting to undergo additional elective surgery (to the explant) and with no medical reason to explant, I decide to park the idea. About 12 weeks ago I had pain, hardening and enlargement in my right breast. The ultrasound showed fluid surrounding the right breast and that was enough to decide to remove my implants. I met with Dr Choy who listened to my reasons for wanting to explant. Not once did he try to talk me into a replacement or lift. He asked enough questions to ascertain I was definite in my decision and realistic about the possible outcomes. He was warm, patient and obviously an expert in his field. I walked out of his office with all of my questions answered and was left so confident in his abilities and understanding of where I was coming from that I didn’t feel the need to see anyone else. The surgery went amazingly well and he called the next day (Saturday) to check up on my progress and de-brief me again on the operation – I appreciated this as although he came to see me after the surgery I didn’t remember much as I was recovering from the anaesthesia. After 10 days, I went back for my post-op check-up and met with his lovely nurse who removed my dressings. It has only been 2 weeks and I couldn’t be happier with my outcome. I’m relieved I look surprisingly good (not at all deformed), my scars are neat and healing nicely and I’m 100% me, as I was intended to be. I don’t regret the implants as they were what I wanted at the time and for the most part gave me the confidence boost I was looking for. I don’t regret explanting as I’m at a different time in my life and now my confidence is boosted by the fact that I have nothing to hide. My body is fine as it is – small boobs, squishy tummy and a few grey hairs. That’s me and that's OK.